Hartalega posts RM91.4mil profit in Q4

KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Berhad (Hartalega), the world’s largest nitrile glove manufacturer, posted a lower net profit in the last quarter ended March 31, as the stronger ringgit reduced its margin.

Net profit in the fourth quarter fell 21.7% to RM91.4mil compared with RM116.6mil made a year ago.

This is the third consecutive quarters of declining profit for the group.

Revenue increased to RM683.9mil from RM616.8mil previously.

“Our results for the fourth quarter are within expectations, particularly given the sharp strengthening of the ringgit in a short time frame," managing director Kuan Mun Leong said in a statement.

"Higher costs for labour and electricity as well as lower gain from foreign exchange also affected our bottom line," he added.

For the full year, the company made a net profit of RM456.2mil, or 13.7 sen a share.

Hartalega has declared a third interim dividend of 1.9 sen a share to entitled shareholders as of June 12, to be paid on June 27.

Total payout for the year so far amounted to 8.5 sen a share.

Glovemakers around the around are aggressively expanding their capacity to keep up with robust growth in demand.

“While commissioning of new capacity within the sector is ongoing, we believe that this will gradually be taken up as industry participants regulate expansion and global demand for rubber gloves continues to grow," Kuan said.

The Group has a current available capacity of producing over 30 billion gloves annually.

“Looking ahead, we are fully cognisant of where the market is headed. As such, we have put in place sustainable long-term growth plans as we move forward with our capacity expansion plans for the NGC, conscious to keep pace with market supply and demand dynamics," he added.